laremy.sg

I think this should work regardless of whether she/he has a working knowledge of algebra and/or inequalities.

First, text her/him this message:

Given 9x – 7i > 3(3x – 7u), solve for i.

If she/he can obtain the answer, then you can skip the rest of this post. This assumes you’re not a dunderhead and that you’ve managed to obtain the answer too.

Otherwise, she or he will probably convey her/his uncertainty to you via “Huh???” or some other less graceful reply. If that happens, then you can proceed to demonstrate your mathematical prowess in this manner!

(Running commentary in the hyperlinks in case you need the explanation – just move your mouse cursor over the hyperlink and wait for a while. An explanation will pop up shortly.)

9x – 7i > 3(3x – 7u)
9x – 7i > 9x – 21u
9x – 9x > 7i – 21u
0 > 7i – 21u
21u > 7i
7i < 21u
i < 3u

= i <3 u or i ♥ u

Cute right? Got this idea from this website.

DISCLAIMER

1. There is a possibility that this is old news. If it is, please forgive my dinosaurian ways.
2. The worst thing I foresee happening: a text message that inadvertently breaks up your relationship or marriage. I disavow any responsibility if that happens. But I’d be interested in knowing about it if it does – it’ll make a nice story to tell the grandkids, I think.

Happy very belated Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Had to go for a Digital Storytelling Workshop organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore over the last few days. This is the product of the workshop.

The YouTube link here in case you can’t see the embedded video.

The script we had to write:

Pooters the Happy Scooter
By Laremy Lee

The first thing I do before first-time pillion riders get on my bike is to introduce my scooter to them. “My scooter’s name is Pooters,” I will say. “Pooters?” they will ask. “But why?” My response: “Because it poots.”

Pooters is a Vespa ET8 that I’ve owned since receiving my motorcycle license back in 2004. When I bought Pooters, it was black in colour. After Pooters and I met with our first accident in 2005, however, my father nagged me into painting Pooters white. Since then, Pooters and I have been in two more accidents, so maybe it’s not really about its colour.

Pooters has a knack of endearing itself to everyone it meets. While Pooters’s fan base is innumerable, let me settle this matter once and for all: I am Pooters’s biggest fan. After me, comes my girlfriend, and after her, the cats in my neighbourhood. I just wish they’d stop leaving their paw prints on Pooters’s seat.

I like to think that the reason why Pooters is so popular is because Pooters is A Happy Scooter that smiles at everyone and everything it sees. I know it sounds like mere whimsy on my part, but rest assured that you’re not gonna get a chance to ride on Pooters if you don’t agree with us.

Though it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns with Pooters, you know. One of my biggest bugbears is Pooters’s temperament: it often breaks down at the most inconvenient of times. Compound that with Singapore’s penchant for rain, and it’s a surefire recipe for an unpleasant commute.

Does this mean I’ll be trading Pooters in for another vehicle anytime soon? Well, for all its quirks, Pooters occupies a special place in my heart. Until the day comes for us to ride under the giant ERP gantry in the sky, you’ll still find us pooting merrily down the roads of Singapore together, Pooters and I.

Complicity by Julian Barnes, courtesy of one of my favourite publications – The New Yorker.

Favourite re-worded lyric: “You better shape up/’Cos you need a man”. (有。。。！)

In other news, I have a sudden obsession with songs from Grease. Other videos you might want to watch:

Summer Nights

• The Original.
• The Lego stop motion version.

You’re The One That I Want

• With er… subtitles.

Some advice for guys from links which popped up within minutes of each other, so I thought I’d share them.

1. this is fucking it, you are in love with me.

   This is for the guys who are wondering why ‘nice guys finish last’ holds true for them. When I was younger, I used to feel that way a lot. But I think the good thing was that I never stopped trying, I never stopped taking chances and I just kept on learning. This was one of the things I learnt along the way, and I’m glad someone has put it so… eloquently.

   “You are so in love with me that you are so unbelievably ready to ruin our friendship for a chance at love. That you are willing to pick up that bat and attempt to hit the ball out of the fucking stadium. Because either you strike out or you hit a home run.”

   (via)

2. Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women.

   This is for awareness. I know it happens to me too so I try to manage it when I realise it’s happening to me e.g. take some time to pause and reflect on what is being said/asked. What’s important is that you stay in control of the conversation – but don’t dominate it.

   “…research shows men who spend even a few minutes in the company of an attractive woman perform less well in tests designed to measure brain function than those who chat to (sic) someone they do not find attractive.”